Emergency Preparedness in Rideau Rockcliffe

What does emergency preparedness look like in Rideau Rockcliffe?  You need a buffer of supplies and know how.

1. Back up water supplies

2. Back up food supplies

3. Emergency power backup

4. Emergency cash... atm's out of order

5. Working bicycle or ebike

6. Physical conditioning

7. Access to power tools like chainsaws, sump pumps , and the knowledge how to use them.

With flooding more prevalent the protocols need to  be commonly understood

Flooded basement Protocol

•  Move out contents, rip out flooring, rip out bottom 18" of dry wall...or more, remove wet insulation, all to prevent or minimize black mould
•  Then dry it all out with fans, and commercial grade dehumidifiers.
• Apply a mould inhibiter 

• You'll need a dumpster for the torn out materials  damp and damaged linens, furniture and anything adversely affected. DRY Things out ASAP.

• Level and Seal the slab after it dries out
• Reinstall insulation, pull down original vapor barrier and secure to dried out stud and plate
• install drywall and plaster, sand
• Prime and paint drywall
• Install dimpled PET floor cover
• ReInstall vapor seal
• Install flooring

8. Communications backup.. more than one cell account

9. Flashlights and batteries, solar backups

10. Sufficient medications and first aide supplies

11. Know your neighbors, help them out, they'll help you too. Figure out how to deal with the stress. Remember to eat, drink water, sleep.

12. Your own emergency plan including a ready bag, contact numbers, cash, a buddy, meetup points, a plan of action when things go pear shaped.

There is much to consider...when there is no emergency.  Try and practice. Pretend there is an emergency.

The need to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable...

The tragedy in LAHAINA, Hawaii is instructive concerning the need for wards of municipalities to be prepared. Here's a list of the crazy things that happened during the Lahaina wildfire: 

1. Police turned cars back towards the wildfire fearing downed power lines;

2. They fought over water supply to fire trucks;

3. They did not sound alarms;

4. Because power lines were not buried, they collapsed in the fire;

5. Combustibles abounded all around;

6. Lack of organization and planning delayed the evacuation;

What about Rideau- Rockcliffe?

The question now arises--what hazards and proclivities pose the greatest risk to our ward?

Here is a short list: 

1. Nuclear detonation

• Owing to adversarial Putin and Canada's NATO alliance...things could escalate.
• Hiroshima has informed us.

2. Contamination of water supply--the Ottawa River

• The Ottawa River is soon to be down-stream from a nuclear waste dump in Deep River; prevention is the answer here.

3. A great conflagration in Gatineau park

• Climate change, drought and pine beetles have wreaked havoc all around us. The national capital is not immune to wildfires. Clear combustibles from around your home. Consider a metal roof to resist hot flying embers from the flames.

4. Multiple tornados striking the ward

• The band of tornados seems to be moving north. We have been lucky but a highway seven event is possible. You need emergency backup power.

5. Natural Disaster

• Massive heat wave...or ice storm, climate change is palpable now...but could get worse...the changes may not be linear or manageable. You need cooling systems and fans.

6. Aliens land 

• The Americans admit that UAP are not proven to be extra terrestrial..."but we do not know what they are!"
• ;o)  just kidding, they are ours.

7. Racial, gang or worker strife... including trucker convoy styled protest or general strike

• The trucker convoy was proven effective as a protest. It could happen again. In fact protests could become more common.
• Roaming gangs of thugs protocols

Probably not much you can do unless you have Surrey neighbors with baseball bats to discourage ner's do wells.

8. Hazardous materials incident

• 417 Traffic on the Queensway often grinds to a halt backing up traffic in the nation's capital. A hazardous waste incident during a traffic tie up could have disastrous consequences.

9. Overland inundation

• On July 1st, 2026 Otawa received about 200 mm of rain over four hours. Things go sidewalks when you get that much water. The drains just cannot handle it. Basements flood, personal property damage escalates. People get stressed out. Implement flooded basement protocol as per above.

One of the problems in Lahaina was that they did not practice and they did not imagine the worst case. Can we learn from Lahaina and not just think the unthinkable but be proactive as a community to mitigate those risks?

Even if the City and ward refuse to practice, you and your family and neighbors can and should practice

 Expect the unexpected. Imagine the unimaginable.

Again, these are a few of the possibilities. There are others of course, including air crashes, plagues, etc.

Rideau Rockcliffe does have an emergency planning process but have stopped short of trying to predict the future... It is focused on city assets and process:

https://ottawa.ca/en/health-and-public-safety/emergency-preparedness#section-0116fca7-414f-4d72-954d-7097cd1f1be3

Consider who you want to plan for the future emergencies. Choose somebody who can think clearly under pressure and will not quit.

This time around, inform yourselves, vote differently, vote wisely.  Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau Rockcliffe